King George Square redevelopment gets thumbs down

By Kate Dennehy

Brisbane's $28 million King George Square redevelopment has received the thumbs-down from some of Queensland's most eminent architects.

Design consulting firm, UrbisJHD in 2006, won a Brisbane City Council (BCC) competition to redesign the historic square, due to reopen this month.

University of Queensland Master of Architecture program associate professor Peter Skinner gives his view on the King George Square rennovations.Credit:Michelle Smith

The company promised the square, bordered by Adelaide and Ann streets, would "become the city's premier civic destination, integrating a major transport interchange with a world class public space".

The revamped square, features a huge "back deck" viewing platform, a "grand ramp" incline running upwards from Adelaide Street, two entrances to the Inner Northern Busway, the re-installation of historic sculptures including bronze lions mounted on a perspex light box, 15 trees, a Speaker's Corner and a lot of granite paving.

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Work on the square continued last week but when it is finished a cafe and restaurant will be included near and under the deck.

While the architects The Sun-Herald spoke to thought the redevelopment had some redeeming features on the 1967 revamp, criticisms included the oversized busway entries, buildings that detract from "the grandeur" of Brisbane City Hall, lack of shade, glare and no feeling to what is supposed to be the city's "heart."

A former BCC chief architect, James Birrell questioned the need for two bus station entries only metres apart and the "gigantic buildings".

"A square should be a square, not a disparate group of huge buildings," he said. "It was wonderful when there were fountains and people could meet there and sit on the grass but there's no space for gathering there now."

Dr Peter Skinner, Associate Professor of University of Queensland's School of Architecture said it was "unfortunate" the square had to be designed around the busway entrances that "resemble war-time gun emplacements".

"The thoughtless layout of the busway, predating the competition, wrecks the whole potential of the square that looks more like a thoroughfare than a meeting place," he said. "The heart of the city is supposed to draw people together but this will be more like a movement of pedestrians on a wide footpath. Unfortunately the square is decorating the busway rather than concealing it."

He said the ramp should slope down towards City Hall, not towards the traffic in Adelaide Street.

"Federation Square in Melbourne demonstrates that gently ramping public spaces can be great gathering spaces and the slope there leads to a significant focus, such as an informal performance space, a big digital screen."

Architect Robert Riddel, of Riddel Architecture agreed the entries obscured City Hall and wasted space. "Compared to other cities like London, Paris or New York the busways are huge and only need to cater for a fraction of the commuters those cities handle with much more modest facilities," he said. "All that was needed was a hole in the ground and an escalator."

He said the trees would also detract from the historic building "which was why only palms had been planted in the original design."

He said the paving caused reflective glare and the area would be very hot in summer. "You'll need goggles to cope with the glare, it's going to be like a snowfield." The deck provided shade but "looked like something that should be temporary."

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John Cole, director of the Australian Centre for Sustainable Business and Development at the University of Southern Queensland said Brisbane's Lord Mayor from 1940 to 1952, Sir John Chandler, wanted to keep the city "green". "He had a vision for Albert Street to be a tree lined avenue from City Hall to the Botanic Gardens on the eastern end of the CBD," Professor Cole said.

"We need shade and cooling in our city and places to loll and take time out from the hustle and bustle of mid city life."